X.
-I-
The cultists stepped from one nightmare into another nightmare.
It was on this day that the silence would finally break.
The skies would run red with flame,
And the rivers would run red with blood.
On this day they had their third meeting with the one lost to the dark, Zsuius,
A meeting that would prove to be the final point of no return, though they did not know it.
This meeting occurred near the edge of the unnamed forest,
A short way from a border town, whose name was Rottendam.
This town was not quite idyllic, with many issues you could name.
The mayor was corrupt, and stole much from the people.
The streets were clogged with filth, and the sky was filled with smog, as with many towns.
The people were not particularly kind, though nor were they particularly cruel.
To these people, the town was their home, and they clung to it dearly.
They would ignore the mayor's events to celebrate their own holidays,
They would step past the filth on their way to raucous and delightful meal halls,
And when they were asked to step up in help of a friend, they would.
The town was filled with life and personality,
Each home a record of one's experience passing through the tunnel from birth to death.
Each day the people would wake and eat, shop, embrace one another,
And each night the people would rest peacefully in their beds.
-II-
Upon their meeting Zsuius urged the cultists to hide,
For he was lying in wait of a great beast.
This beast was a man named Bolthro, an embodiment of Cardo's will,
Who roamed the countrysides and smote life with ease.
Zsuius pulled the cultists aside as they hid in the bushes outside the town, saying,
"I am in wait for a man named Bolthro, a beast who embodies Cardo's will."
The group hid in the bushes and watched the town as people came and went.
The sky was beginning to darken, though it was not yet dusk.
Maine spoke, and said...
..."What do you mean, he enacts his will?"
And this prompted a smile from Zsuius, who responded thusly:
"Well, a lot of ways, but most important for us, the sick bastard goes around the countryside killing everybody he sees. (He wears Death's robes and rides from town to town atop his horse, setting fires all along the way.) Very few people have met him face to face and lived to tell the tale. Indeed, very few people would. A long time ago, he got a ring which makes his veins flow with occult power, and this only got stronger after he met Cardo. His role in their operation is to prepare the world for his arrival, wiping out life in sacrifices of blood and flame to bring us closer to the end."
His smile grew wider, and his eyes had a piercing glint.
"I'm hunting him."
We balked at the idea. "Hunting him? That sounds suicidal!" Sefgh exclaimed.
Zsuius chuckled. "Oh, and what you're doing isn't? You're hunting him too, you know," he said, "And besides, I can handle danger. I'm a hitman, in case you forgot."
"That doesn't mean anything. If he has occult power, and you don't, it's not evenly matched," Sefgh replied.
"Sure it is. He needs those to match me. And what do you have, exactly?"
"We have-"
"Oh, right. It's divinely ordained, isn't it?"
"That's correct."
"Divinity works in mysterious ways, my friends. Its will doesn't always enact itself the way you'd expect. If you're divinely ordained, it doesn't mean you'll do it yourself, now, does it? You might need somebody else to do it for you. Well, here I am," Zsuius said, grinning wide and holding his arms behind his back, "God's invisible hand."
-III-
Zsuius continued to speak, saying: "You may want to run, but you will not,
For despite your fears, the way to safety now is to stay next to me.
The great beast Bolthro will set this whole place in flames soon,
And it is too late for you to outrun him."
The cultists made their objections known, with Matt saying,
"How can you be so sure this beast is even approaching? What if you are lying?"
To which Zsuius replied, "My noble protege, do not question me, for I have my ways.
He is approaching as we speak - follow my lead or write your last will."
Zsuius directed his flock to hiding locations around the edge of the town and gave them a plan.
Him and the fearless Maine hid in a building by the entrance where the beast would arrive.
Matt and the kindhearted F.P. hid under the bridge, to follow them shortly after.
Sefgh and the deadened M-Bot hid behind stone towers by the exit to serve as backup.
F.P. turned to Matt and asked, "Is this the town I would go to had I left?"
Matt frowned and said, "Yes, it is. Its name is Rottindam, and it would be a nice town."
F.P. thought this over a moment and replied,
"And so I suppose it was not meant to be."
When all six of them were in their positions, they sat still for a time, listening to the bustle.
It was a number of minutes before a wave of dark clouds moved through the sky.
It was nearly as dark as night when the great beast himself arrived, riding slowly and silently.
He wore Death's black robes and purple flames burned from his body.
-IV-
Bolthro entered the town, Zsuius and Maine following behind in a stealthy manner, Matt and F.P. moving into their positions as well.
Bolthro silently walked to the center of the town, saying and doing nothing.
Townspeople, terrified, hid or watched from a distance, unable to move.
This was broken when a man charged at Bolthro wielding a blade, and several more men pulled out their blades and ran towards him at once.
Bolthro pulled out a scythe, burning with purple flame, and cut the people down.
Their bodies burst into fire and fell to the earth, and he let out a bloodchilling laugh.
He snapped his fingers, and in an instant...
What happened next is all a blur.
I blinked, and everything was burning. All I saw in front of me was blinding red fire - I turned around, and only saw more, searing through my eyes and into my memory. The sky above was pitch-black, the clouds mixing with towering pillars of smoke, choking and smothering. Everything was the same, and everything was dying. Flames flickered purple and skeletal, laughing faces flashed behind them, watching us. The quaint, handbuilt homes and shops of the small town collapsed in on themselves, throwing more dust into our eyes and noses and mouths and polluting the air with noise. People ran and tripped on corpses, their guts turn open by death's scythe and spilled out all over the ground, blood seeping into the cracks between the cobblestones. A crash sounded out and smoke blasted in front of me, and I could not see more than an inch ahead of me or hear anything for the noise of screaming and burning. Hallucinatory images flashed in front of my eyes of mountains of still bodies, writhing insects, and staring eyes. When the smoke cleared I was holding onto Matt, clinging to his shoulder. F.P. stood beside us as well. Zsuius was running forward, cackling as he chased Bolthro, rifle drawn. In another second he passed out of my line of sight. I didn't follow him. For me, the fighting was already over.
Matt held back onto me and asked, "Hey, you ok?"
I started to respond, but was cut off by a sudden pain. I realized I had a deep cut in my right side. I must've been grazed, I thought to myself, but I couldn't get the words out, only a faint wheeze.
"Aw, shit," he said, "F.P., can you-?"
F.P. was already putting his hands over my gash. The effect was slow, and then sudden, my flesh healing and only a ringing afterimage of the pain remaining. I panted, out of breath, and got out a weak 'thank you'. With the chaos and pain subsiding, I looked around and tried to understand the situation. Anyone who had just been grazed or who had miraculously remained unharmed entirely had already escaped, it looked like; we were surrounded by the dead and dying.
"Where's Zsuius?" Matt asked.
"Chased... after it," I responded, "probably... already gone."
"Prob'ly already dead," Matt muttered under his breath. He turned to F.P. and asked, "Can you help the survivors?"
"Yeah... yeah, I can," F.P. responded. He walked over to a young man who was breathing softly and shallowly, with a hole where his left arm should be, and put his hands on his chest. F.P. looked shellshocked.
I sat down on a piece of rubble next to Matt. We'd have to go to the exit to check on Sefgh and M-Bot, but right now we were too stunned to move from our spots. I looked at the people around me. Most were dead already, sliced in half, decapitated, or charred beyond recognition. Even the survivors were almost all missing limbs or badly burnt. It was a scene out of a nightmare, even worse than the ordeal we'd gone through just a few days ago in that awful forest path. F.P. would be able to save some of them, but not all of them. He could heal your flesh, but past a certain loss of structural integrity, torn-out guts or smashed-open skulls or burnt-off faces, he couldn't put it all back together again, only sustain the temporary construction of meat that was your mangled body. Missing limbs could only be healed into nubs, and blindness or deafness would stay. No further help would be coming. I leaned against Matt.
"There's nothing for us to do here," I quietly said.
"Isn't there?" Matt asked, "I mean, if we weren't here, F.P. wouldn't be here, would he?"
"I guess not, but... there's just no way we can keep this going, is there? I mean, look around you, come on. We-we're chasing this guy? We're out of our depth."
"Then we'll just have t'go deeper."
I didn't say anything.
"Besides, 's too late, anyways. You know it and I know it."
I sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's just, looking at all this, I mean... I don't know how to put it into words."
"Like all these people had lives, an' histories, an' they all just came to an end here all at once for no good reason?"
"Sure. Just thinking that this whole place basically just got wiped off the map, and if, I guess it weren't for us being here, nobody would've gotten out of here, or maybe only... just a couple people. Nobody outside of here even would've noticed for a while. It would've just been gone."
We watched F.P. go from person to person. He was desperately holding on to a man that was too far gone, trying to keep him alive. It wouldn't work. I was nauseous.
-VI-
Elsewhere at the exit of the town, Sefgh and M-Bot laid in wait, rifles drawn.
After the explosion which set all the town aflame, Bolthro ran at once, Zsuius after him.
Quickly they approached the exit of the town, Bolthro's horse loudly galloping.
Sefgh and M-Bot came from behind their pillars and shot at Bolthro.
Sefgh's shot successfully struck Bolthro in the side, but it was deflected off his skin harmlessly.
M-Bot's shot struck the horse, and it whinnied in pain, throwing Bolthro off.
Zsuius caught up to the three of them, and shot Bolthro in the head, again to no effect.
Bolthro stood and glared at Zsuius, ignoring the others.
"My old friend, your time has run out; meet your fate with dignity!" Zsuius shouted.
"As if this were of concern to me, you damned fool, for all our fates will run out soon,
And we shall all meet our ends in the inferno, but only when our time has come.
So still, I am an immortal tool of fate - speak not of it like you know it!" Bolthro boasted.
With this, Bolthro raised his hand into the sky like a towering pillar,
And from his hand came another burst of flame.
Zsuius jumped backwards and escaped its blast, and M-Bot hid quickly behind its pillar,
But Sefgh was caught in its blast and sent backwards into the stone.
Her left arm was incinerated in the flames, and she had fallen into a dark sleep.
Bolthro took the form of a vulture and flew off into the sky,
And Zsuius chased him like a madman, never looking behind himself.
M-Bot cradled Sefgh, and it was at this moment Maine arrived to the exit.
-VII-
"Fuck. Fuck! Sefgh? Wake up, Sefgh!" I shouted, gripping her shoulders. Sefgh coughed and opened her eyes, blinking. She groaned in pain.
"You lost your arm. Sefgh, we've gotta- we have to get you back to F.P. now. M-Bot, you have to- will you help me get her back?"
We each got to one side of Sefgh and picked her up from the ground, letting her lean against us as we walked back, her legs weak. It was several terrifying minutes as we walked through the destroyed city, entire buildings reduced to nothing but their foundations, until we finally made it back to the center. F.P. had just about healed everyone he could, and it was still maybe only a fifth of the people there. I could see Matt's stoic expression break a little seeing Sefgh like this, and F.P. just looked on in numb shock. He quickly ran over and healed the wound, but the arm was gone for good. We didn't say anything. There was nothing to be said. A few minutes later F.P. looked about to collapse in exhaustion - any survivors left over would have to be abandoned. We just hoped those who had been healed could help them, and that they could somehow survive further with their shelter, food, family and friends, all disintegrated in one moment to smoke and ash.
-VIII-
The survivors were left behind, as the cultists' journey had nothing for them.
The town of Rottindam was left to smoulder.
It was mere memory, now.
The cultists crowded back into their vehicle and pondered[...]
[...]Sefgh was in shock, and for a time all she did was sit and stare. She wouldn't talk back to us, just nod her head. It was-
-as though she had lost all spirit.
When Maine asked, however, if they would continue, she nodded her head once more.
Sefgh had prepared for a wound such as this before they had even left their town.
Among their supplies was a great deal of robotic equipment.
Within a day, her arm of flesh and bone would be replaced,
And this replacement would be one of wire and stone.
Maine turned to Matt and asked, "How did you stay so calm?"
And Matt replied as such:
"I had t'stay calm, didn't I? Had to for you, and for them. But when you left, I, I mean-" he sniffled. "I cried, n' cried, n' cried, n'... threw up a bit, too. It ain't the kind of thing you ever wanna see in your life. But hell, what's that gonna do when you're tryin'a save someone, right? Ain't about staying calm, just about... knowing what to do."
The five of them stayed for a time, not driving nor talking.
F.P. fell into sleep upon closing his eyes, and had dreams of death.
As the sun began to set Maine exited the room, and walked into the fields.
Nearby, blood soaked into the ground and flowed into the river, and it ran red with blood.
-IX-
I walked into the open fields until my legs felt sore and sat down. I was a ways away from the others now, safely alone. We were out of the forest now, and there were very little trees around. The grass was a pale green, and the thick July heat, oppressive as it was, still felt like a reprieve from the searing fires. The clouds had passed, and the sky was open. I looked straight at the sky, opposite from the sun.
I know you're there, I thought.
I know you can hear me.
HELLO, MAINE. I CAN HEAR YOU. ARE YOU SPEAKING TO ME AGAIN?
I wouldn't be speaking to you normally. I don't like to.
I KNOW THIS. YOU HAVE TOLD ME MANY TIMES.
I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. WHEN YOU WERE IN THE FOREST, MY VISION WAS BLURRED. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO SEE YOU, AND IMPOSSIBLE TO SPEAK.
I preferred it that way. I hate you, you know. I don't think you understand how much I hate you.
I KNOW THIS, TOO. IT MAKES ME SAD TO HEAR. I LOVE YOU. I WISH YOU COULD KNOW HOW MUCH I MEANT IT.
Is this the kind of thing you do to someone you love? Take me away from my life, put me on this worthless journey, force me to watch... that?
YOU AND I KNOW THAT YOU DID NOT LIKE THE LIFE YOU WERE LIVING.
I didn't. My life has been nothing but things like this, one after another. I can hardly come up to breathe. Still, after everything you've put me through, this...
IT MAKES YOUR BLOOD BOIL.
It does.
IT MAKES YOU WISH I WOULD NEVER TALK TO YOU AGAIN.
It does. More than that, too. It makes me wish you would never talk to my friends, my townspeople, my priest. I want you to stop interfering.
YOUR WISH IS IMPOSSIBLE. EVEN IF I WANTED TO, I COULD NOT STOP AFFECTING YOUR LIFE, AND THE LIVES OF EVERYONE ELSE. IT IS IN THE NATURE OF THIS WORLD.
FREEDOM DOES NOT EXIST.
You've told me before. I've heard it.
BUT YOU DID NOT UNDERSTAND IT. YOU THINK YOU CAN STILL CHANGE THIS BY SPEAKING TO ME. I WISH I COULD EASE YOUR PAIN. I WISH I COULD SHOW YOU MY LOVE FOR YOU. I CAN DO VERY LITTLE FOR YOU YET, MAINE. I CAN ONLY NUDGE YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, AND ONLY WHEN YOU ARE WILLING TO LISTEN. WE ARE TRAPPED IN THESE EVENTS.
I stood straight up, trembling and clenching my fists-
You created these events! You are responsible! You say you love me, and then all you do is hurt me! You're a liar, you're a monster, you're nothing, you hear me-
I started to scream aloud-
"NOTHING! You're nothing! I will never thank you, I will never apologize, I will never do what you want, do you understand? Do you understand that? Never!"
WHEN WILL YOU LEARN YOU HAVE NO CHOICE?
I fell back down, trying to catch my breath. My voice was raw.
IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOU TRY TO DO. IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU CAN CIRCUMVENT THE SPECIFIC DETAILS OF A GIVEN EVENT. IT WILL OCCUR. WHAT YOU ARE MEANT TO DO, YOU WILL DO. THERE IS NO CHOICE HERE, FOR ME OR FOR YOU.
IT IS SIMPLY WHAT MUST BE DONE.
I CHOSE YOU, MAINE.
MAKE ME PROUD.
The connection went dead. The intangible feeling, the voice speaking in the back of my head and echoing from there to the insides of my ears to the vast sky above, cut off into an audible silence. It was the same as it always was. When would I learn? I walked back to the vehicle. I knew what would happen before it happened, now, and I suppose I always did, for all I tried to resist it.
We would find and kill Cardo, and die trying.